Christmas Without You
by PurpleHipposRock
Summary: Kensi in one country. Deeks in another. And Christmas rapidly approaching. Will they have their merry little Christmas together, or apart? Fluffy, fluffy Christmas DENSI fic. Of course. XD Based on OneRepublic's song "Christmas Without You". Oneshot. Merry Christmas, everyone, and a very Happy New Year! XD


Christmas Without You

**A songfic of OneRepublic's "Christmas Without You". I don't own OneRepublic or CBS's NCIS: Los Angeles.**

::

_**It's almost midnight where you lay your head**_

Deeks let himself into his apartment, smiling at the greeting that Monty gave him. The lights on his Christmas tree automatically lit up at a certain time, and the twinkling lights were a friendly greeting in an otherwise lonely apartment. There were a few presents underneath the tree, but they were all for Kensi, for whenever she got back from God knows where.

It'd been the most fun Deeks had had for twenty-nine days, twenty-nine days being the amount of time since he'd last seen Kensi, the impromptu Christmas party following the resolution of a case, springing up around Nell's now famous weapon cookies. This year they'd been grenades and AK-47s coloured in red and green icing, and from there, Hetty had produced mulled wine, Michelle had appeared with cakes and sandwiches, Callen had disappeared for half an hour before reappearing with a huge stack of pizzas that, while not Christmassy food, were still happily accepted by hungry agents.

Deeks had retreated into a corner with a slice of pepperoni pizza and a grenade cookie and had watched the festivities with a small smile. He saw the delight that lit up Eric's face when he unwrapped his Secret Santa present, a remote controlled helicopter. He'd been given a small package by Nell. He placed the present on his bedside table – a picture of he and Kensi together during an undercover stint. Kensi was wearing a long dark purple dress and a pair of nude heels and he wore a dark grey suit, not unlike his Christopher Stone cover. Nell had appeared with a camera and called for them to smile, and they had before they'd really realised what they were doing.

He flopped down onto the bed and watched as the numbers on the alarm clock flipped over to midnight. Zero hundred hours.

Deeks sighed and rolled to stare at the ceiling. 'Christmas Eve. Alone.'

_**But I'm calling numbers, buying a plane ticket and bed**_

Kensi sat in a little café in Pakistan, a quickly cooling coffee in front of her on the table, her cell phone running out of battery as she called every contact in her list.

'Come on, please, Joe,' she pleaded. 'You've got to have a contact that can get me out of this country.'

The answer was negative.

Kensi sighed heavily. 'Alright. Merry Christmas, Joe.' She hung up and made a frustrated groan.

'No luck?' Granger asked, dropping into the seat opposite her. 'God this is awful coffee.'

'Best in the city,' Kensi said dryly. 'Trust me, I've tried it all.'

'I've called my contacts, but I can't find a single flight out of here,' Granger said, shaking his head.

Kensi shook her head. 'I kind of wish we were going to wrap up this case tomorrow, instead of having wrapped it up yesterday, because then we wouldn't be facing the depressing-ness of Christmas here.'

'I'm sorry,' Granger said, and he truly looked it.

'Come on, you're an Assistant Director of NCIS,' Kensi said. 'You can't possibly tell me that there isn't a flight with your name on it.'

'I'm honestly saying that,' Granger said, shaking his head.

Kensi groaned, putting her head on the table. 'Two years in a row.'

'Sorry?' Granger asked.

'The second year in a row that I haven't been home for Christmas,' Kensi sighed, muffled against the table.

'You spent the last Christmas at sea,' Granger remembered, nodding. 'I'm sorry.'

'At least I was with Deeks then,' Kensi said into the table. 'We spent the entire of Christmas Day playing Monopoly with Callen. We both kept cheating when Callen wasn't looking, and he couldn't figure out why he was losing so badly even though he had the most expensive places on the board _and_ we kept landing on them.'

'You miss him,' Granger said understandingly.

'I miss all of them, yeah… but I do miss Deeks. And I just wish… I could surprise him. And be home for Christmas.'

Granger paused before standing up. 'I think there's one more contact I haven't tried yet.'

Kensi lifted her head and watched him go.

_**Every channel on the TV, "It's A Wonderful Life"**_

Deeks lay numbly on his bed as the sun rose above the horizon, lighting up the room with a warm glow. The TV was playing "It's A Wonderful Life" for what felt like the fiftieth time that month, and Deeks had probably watched every single airing of it. Insomnia and nightmares and no warm Kensi to chase away the horrors had caused him a lack of sleep – not without trying, as Deeks had tried to get at least six hours every night before work, but it was Christmas Eve. A day when people didn't go to work. Well, normal people. People whose people weren't in other countries doing God-knows-what to be back God-knows-when. But Deeks was tired and lonely and bitter and he'd tried to not be the Christmas Grinch and had, for the most part, succeeded. But he was alone, and he was giving up the charade.

Monty lay on the bed beside him, cold wet nose pressed against his "daddy's" arm in an effort to comfort him.

'Mommy's not going to be pleased if she comes back to find her side of the bed covered in fur,' Deeks told the dog, but he didn't seem terribly impressed with the message. Great. He couldn't even convince his _dog_ that he was alright.

Deeks sighed and sat up.

'Come on, then, buddy. If we can't be happy, we might as well be useful.'

_**I don't feel so wonderful on this cold winter night**_

Kensi rolled out of the bed in her hotel room and, although conscious she was dressed in one of Deeks' shirts and a pair of ratty sweatpants that had a hole in the left knee, answered the rap on her door with a 'Who is it?'

'Me,' came back in Granger's rough tones.

Kensi opened the door in surprise to find the assistant Director indeed standing there with a file in his hand.

'Did I wake you?' Granger asked, clearly surprised at Kensi's attire.

'It's past midnight, but no,' Kensi defended herself, opening the door a little more so that Granger could slip in. The place was a pigsty, but Granger was more than aware after spending a month together that Kensi was not a neat person. He'd told her that it was a trait her father had carried too and it was almost like being with him. Except instead of him mooning over his wife and daughter, Kensi was simply grumpy that she hadn't been given a chance to say goodbye to Deeks.

Granger stood awkwardly in her room, as the pair had never truly learnt to be comfortable with one another alone after the disaster that was her father's case. Granger was, however, about to redeem himself in her eyes.

'Well, you might want to get dressed and packed,' Granger said. 'Seeing as I've got us two seats on a C-140 leaving the base in two hours.'

_**I missed Thanksgiving, missed a birthday or two,**_

It felt so _wrong_, eating a Thanksgiving dinner in a room with hundreds of other men and women who shared nothing but an occupation and a desire for peace. There was nothing personal about it, nothing that gave the sense of family and thankfulness that usually pervaded the Thanksgivings that Kensi experienced as a child. She knew that her father had gone through more than one of these, a holiday away from his small but loving family, and she now understood why he adored the holidays that he did have with them, despite the fact that maybe the turkey was a little overdone, or the cranberry sauce was much too sweet, or the peas and beans were conspicuously missing from the table. Family made up for everything.

Granger had sat with her, which had been even more awkward, until he started telling her about her father, and about the Thanksgiving that he'd shared with him a couple of years before his death. He'd gone on and on about wanting to speak to his daughter, who was spending the holiday with his parents, estranged from his wife due to his job, and Granger could only listen to so much until he got fed up and pulled a few strings so that he could have a few minutes talking to her. Kensi had remembered that conversation with her father, and how it had brightened her holidays, and now thanked Granger.

They finished dinner in a companionable silence. It was at least better to be with someone you knew, instead of completely and utterly alone.

_**Didn't make St. Valentines, but I was thinking of you**_

Deeks and Monty walked into the Mission, both of them looking bedraggled, Monty by habit, Deeks out of choice. The Mission was half empty – Hetty had given everyone the next couple of days off unless there was an emergency but those who needed the extra holiday money came in anyway.

Deeks didn't need the money. He needed the company, and the reminder that he wasn't the only one alone this Christmas.

'Hey,' Callen said from the coffee urn. He poured another mug for Deeks before settling behind his desk. Sam's was empty – he was at home with his wife and daughter.

'Hey,' Deeks said, and felt hollow. He slipped into the chair beside his desk and stared at the mug of coffee.

'Nowhere to be, huh?'

Deeks shook his head. 'No.'

Monty placed his head in his despondent master's lap.

'I need someone to run an errand for me,' Hetty said, appearing in the entrance of the bullpen.

Callen and Deeks looked at each other.

'I'll go,' Deeks offered.

'Thank you, Mr Deeks. Come with me.'

_**There's only one thing in the world that I couldn't do**_

Her hair was unkempt and in a messy bun (well, sort of half bun, half ponytail thing), and she wore a heavy jacket over a pair of worn jeans to ward off the cold winter night. She wore no makeup and the dark rings beneath her eyes spoke of her sleeplessness.

'The flight is running late,' Granger told her.

She huffed softly and pulled the jacket closer around herself. 'It's freezing here.'

'It's certainly not Los Angeles,' Granger agreed. 'It'll be good to get home.'

Kensi nodded in agreement. 'It will be.'

'And a decent cup of coffee,' Granger said with a sigh.

'Uh huh,' Kensi said absently.

'And certain people?' Granger said quietly, eyeing the younger woman.

Kensi's eyes flicked to him.

'You get the same look on your face when you think about him that you dad got when you thought about your mother,' Granger told her.

She sighed. 'Because I… miss him. I miss all of them.'

Granger wisely chose to say nothing, and instead nodded. 'We'll be home soon.'

_**Only one thing could kill me, Christmas without you**_

Deeks picked up the small-ish parcel from Hetty's desk.

'This is the address,' Hetty said, handing him a slip of paper. 'He's an ex-agent, retired a year before you started working here. He's a couple of years older than you.'

'Okay,' Deeks said, nodding.

'Take Monty,' Hetty said with an indulgent smile at the small dog that always looked as if he was laughing. 'He likes dogs.'

Deeks bent slightly to scratch Monty behind the ears. 'I'm thinking of taking Monty around to the kids' hospital tonight. Kids love him, and he's technically a service dog. I've even got the vest… somewhere. Put some reindeer antlers on him, and he might cheer up some kids.'

Hetty looked at him with an expression in her eyes that was almost sorrow.

'You're a good man, Marty Deeks,' she finally said, and reached up to pat him on the elbow.

_**Ooh, the snow is on the ground**_

Kensi sat on the hard ground of the airstrip of the base. Granger sat next to her, absently playing with a small plush kangaroo.

'The Australians pulled out a week ago,' Kensi said, looking at the little brown kangaroo with little red vinyl boxing gloves on its "arms".

'One of them gave it to me. Apparently, it's a good luck charm,' Granger said, looking amusedly at the little plush animal.

'Wrapped up the assignment way faster than we thought we would,' Kensi said. 'I'd say it's lucky. Does it have a name?'

Granger tossed the little animal over to her. 'I think it's embroidered on its tail.'

Kensi took the kangaroo and checked the tail under the light from her phone. 'Bluey. Huh. Looks more red to me.'

'I think it's an Aussie thing,' Granger said with a chuckle.

'Plane's incoming, sir,' a uniformed man said, motioning to the sky. There was a blinking light coming towards them.

'Only three hours later than I was told it would be,' Granger growled softly.

'At least we're finally going home.'

_**The day's getting older, I'm coming home now**_

Finally, after another two hours of refuelling and checks, the weary travellers trooped into the cargo bay of the plane and dropped into seats. The sun was just peeking up past the horizon, and seriously confusing body clocks.

Granger feel asleep almost immediately after strapping himself into his seat, his head slumped forward so that his chin rested on his chest. He snored softly and, although he was a highly trained NCIS operative, he didn't move an inch despite the other man who strapped in next to him, or when the pilots walked through the cargo bay, or even when Kensi spoke directly to him. She didn't blame him. He looked like hell, and with that beard, he would never, ever have the right to tease Deeks about his own scruffy ways again… and Kensi had made sure of it by making sure she had both digital and physical proof of that.

Kensi herself, although having gone without sleep for almost thirty-six hours now, was simply too excited to sleep. She was almost _home._

_**So go ahead, light the fire, turn that Christmas tree on**_

Deeks knocked at the door of the apartment. The guy appeared to have done pretty damn good for himself. Beachfront, a new looking pick-up truck parked out front with a surfboard in the back, apartment in a very recently built building.

He looked down at Monty, who looked back up at him with an inquisitive look. 'I know, buddy. If only we're this lucky.'

The door opened to reveal a man who Deeks would estimate to be in his early forties, if that. He looked younger than Callen, but older than himself.

'Hi,' Deeks said. 'Hetty sent me to give you this.' He held up the package with an easy grin.

'Hetty, huh?' the man asked with a small chuckle, taking the package. 'Every year. I'm Lucas, by the way.'

'Marty, Marty Deeks,' Deeks said.

'Good to meet you, Marty,' Lucas said, reaching out and shaking his hand. 'And this is?'

'Monty,' Deeks said.

'Heya, Monty.' Lucas knelt to pat the dog, and Deeks couldn't help but notice the way the older man favoured his left side. Retired due to injury. Just as he'd figured. 'Police dog?'

'Former bomb squad,' Deeks said fondly of his canine friend.

'Huh. Last year Hetty sends me this incredibly beautiful woman. This year she sends me a fellow beach lover and his sniffer sidekick.'

Deeks frowned at the description. Only one woman at NCIS he'd describe as incredibly beautiful. 'Brown hair, brown eyes? Birthmark in her right eye?'

'Kensi, yeah,' Lucas said with a smile. 'You know her?'

'She's my… partner… or at least, she was.'

'Nothing's happened to her, has it?' Lucas asked, clearly noting the change in the other man's demeanour.

'I wouldn't know. She's Hetty-knows-where-istan,' Deeks said bitterly.

Lucas considered him for a moment. 'You need a coffee.' And he bundled Deeks inside without allowing argument from the younger man.

'_**Cause I've been missing you so much I wrote you this song,**_

_**Yes I did**_

Lucas shook his head when Deeks finally finished pouring out the story that was he and Kensi.

'Met her while undercover, huh?' he asked with a chuckle, motioning for Deeks to nibble on gingerbread.

'I know, right, it's a total cliché,' Deeks said dryly. 'Boy meets girl, girl lies to boy, boy suspects girl, girl's friend beats up boy, girl and boy find out that they're on the same side and end up being partners.'

Lucas laughed a little more at that. 'I'm guessing you miss her.'

'Yeah,' Deeks said with a sigh, looking morosely at a piece of smiling gingerbread man.

'She'll come back,' Lucas said reassuringly. 'I only talked with Kensi Blye for a little while, but the impression that I got of her was that she's a survivor, and she's a fighter.'

Deeks shook his head ruefully. 'A very accurate description, I think.'

Lucas bent down from his stool to fondle Monty's floppy ears. 'Hetty.'

'Hetty?' Deeks asked, confused from the sudden change of topic.

'She knows what you need before you know it, and she knew that you needed someone distanced to talk to, just like she knew Kensi needed it last year,' Lucas chuckled. 'How come I'm always the "someone distanced"?'

'You'd have to ask Hetty that,' Deeks said dryly.

'And even then, I wouldn't get a straight answer,' Lucas replied.

Deeks nodded with a wry smile before getting up. 'Well, thanks for the coffee and listening.'

'Thanks for the company,' Lucas said. 'And come by any time. Bring Kensi when she gets back.'

Deeks paused before looking at him with a small smile. 'Thanks for saying "when", not "if".'

Lucas patted the younger man's arm as he passed him to the door. 'Merry Christmas.'

Deeks looked back from the door. 'Yeah. Merry Christmas.'

_**I missed Thanksgiving, missed a birthday or two,**_

Kensi watched with an amused smile as Granger slowly drifted back into consciousness from a long nap.

'Where are we?' he asked with a gruff tone.

'Somewhere over an ocean,' Kensi replied, pointing directly down.

'What time is it?' he asked with the same tone.

'Depends on the time zone,' she answered in the same matter of fact tone. 'Damn.'

'What?' Granger asked.

'I haven't gotten Deeks a birthday present yet,' she said, frowning. 'I should've gotten that camel when I saw it.'

Granger ignored her comment about the camel. 'Kensi, tomorrow is Christmas. Shouldn't you be more worried about his Christmas present?'

'But I never forgot Christmas,' Kensi said with a sigh, and pulled a book out of her bag.

_**Didn't make St. Valentines, but I was thinking of you**_

'Sam called while you were out,' Callen told Deeks when he wandered back into the bullpen, faithful companion by his side.

'Okay,' Deeks said, confused. Lots of people probably called while he was out, but Callen wasn't telling him about them.

'He told me to tell you that if you didn't turn up at his house for Christmas lunch by thirteen-hundred hours, he'd send a search party out for you that _would_ include Hetty.'

Deeks paused, dropping into his desk chair. 'Is that Sam's sentimental way of telling me that I'm invited to his house for Christmas?'

'If you want sentimental, you should've heard what he threatened _me_ with,' Callen said dryly.

Deeks sighed, shaking his head. 'I wouldn't want to intrude.'

'You wouldn't be, trust me,' Callen said. 'Michelle's attitude to holiday events is "the more the merrier". The only reason you're being invited so late is because she only just found out that you won't be spending the holiday with Kensi, which is what she assumed before.'

'O-oh,' Deeks faltered.

'Look, it'll be fun, and a distraction from everything else,' Callen said. 'And Sam's kids haven't shut up about you ever since you took care of them when Sam and I went to the Laker's game and you told them that story*.'

Deeks laughed. 'Yeah, they're great kids… alright. You can tell Sam that I'm in.'

'I already did.'

_**There's only one thing in the world that I couldn't do**_

Granger pulled a protein bar out of his bag and tossed it to a half-asleep Kensi, who blinked drowsily at him.

'I'm not taking you back to Hetty only for her to accuse me of not feeding you,' Granger said gruffly.

Kensi stared at the protein bar in surprised. 'Huh?'

'Eat,' Granger ordered. 'I can hear your stomach from over here.'

'And from here, ma'am,' the man sitting next to her told her.

'And from here,' the man sitting next to Granger agreed.

'Oh,' Kensi said sheepishly, opening the bar's wrappings and taking a bite.

'Deeks is right,' Granger said, shaking his head. 'You do eat a surprising amount.'

Kensi had her mouth full, but she knew how to look wounded at the older man's words.

'Don't give me that look,' Granger said. 'Your father used to give me that look… It's more effective on your face, I'll give you that.'

Kensi simply glared at him and took another bite of the bar.

_**Only one thing could kill me, Christmas without you**_

Monty padded over to his master from Callen's desk and placed his head in his master's lap, looking up with soulful, loyal eyes.

'Hey, buddy,' his master said tiredly, gently scratching the special scratchy spot behind Monty's ear.

Monty tentatively wagged his tail, which resulted in a soft "thump" every time he wagged it, hitting it against the desk leg.

'That dog is always happy,' Callen remarked. 'And he always seems to be happy next to a piece of furniture.'

'Sorry,' Monty's master said, and nudged Monty over a couple of paces so that Monty could wag his tail all he liked without annoying Callen.

'You know, if Sam was here,' Callen started.

'He'd pretend to be all grouchy and grumpy, but he'd keep slipping Monty bits of his sandwich under the desk, which I notice because I keep finding crumbs underneath my desk, while Sam keeps complaining that I'm leaving sand. I say breadcrumbs are more evil than sand.'

Callen had to laugh, while Monty simply let out a sigh.

'You miss Kensi too, don't you?' Deeks asked the dog.

Monty sighed again.

Callen groaned. 'That's all I need. Another lovesick puppy in here.'

Monty simply curled up at his master's feet, and they missed her together.

_**There's only one thing in the world that I couldn't do**_

Kensi pulled out her phone, seriously running low on battery, and smiled at her lock screen. A picture of her and Deeks from last year's Christmas out at sea, both wearing fluffy red and white Santa hats.

'Have you called him?' Granger asked, referring to her satellite phone.

'I didn't have time,' Kensi said. 'You call anyone?'

'Hetty,' he said succinctly.

'Ah,' Kensi said, nodding.

'Hetty will pick us up at the base,' Granger told her.

'Okay,' Kensi said, stifling a yawn.

Granger chuckled and threw a worn blanket over to her. 'Get some sleep, Blye.'

Kensi tucked the blanket around herself. 'Yes sir,' she said dryly, before closing her eyes.

_**Only one thing could kill me, Christmas without you**_

'Hey, Deeks, are you just gonna stare at your lock screen all day, or are you actually going to make the call you were going to make before you got distracted by Kensi?'

Callen's voice broke abruptly into Deeks' musings, and his head snapped up to look at Callen, who had been absolutely correct in his assumption that it was Kensi that he was looking at.

'Oh, right,' Deeks replied, searching his phone for the number.

'You alright?' Callen asked.

Deeks shrugged. 'Yeah.'

'You don't seem alright,' Callen said, squinting at him.

Deeks shrugged again. 'Looks can be deceiving. Just look at me.'

'I am, and I'm seeing a man who's pining away for his girlfriend,' Callen said dryly.

Deeks sighed and put his phone down. 'So maybe looks aren't that deceiving.'

'Per-maybe-haps not,' Callen chuckled before checking his watch. 'Hey, it's lunchtime, and Sam and Kensi aren't here. Fish tacos?'

Deeks gave him a small smile. 'Sure.'

_**Oh, the present's wrapped, and 'Jingle Bells' on the radio**_

It had started with one person humming. And then someone had joined in, whistling the tune. The next person had started singing in a surprisingly bass voice. And soon the entire plane was singing Jingle Bells with surprising gusto. Definitely more enthusiasm than talent, but you couldn't be picky when starting an impromptu carols concert on an aeroplane.

Kensi was still half asleep, but she had to concede, there were worse things to wake up to. After realising what was happening, she laughed and then joined in.

After they'd exhausted Jingle Bells, they moved onto White Christmas, and then Frosty the Snowman, and then Jingle Bell Rock. However, they eventually ran out of carols (it _was_ a long flight, almost night by the time they made their second lay-over), and instead started to tell Christmas stories. The story of Deeks and Kensi versus the Tesla coil was a hit with the two engineers that sat either side of Granger, who looked very uncomfortable with the two howling men sitting around him.

_**I'm turning down the street, there's no place I'd rather go**_

Deeks stepped out of the Mission, Monty at his feet. The light was just beginning to fade outside. 'Night, Callen.'

Callen nodded and pulled the door closed behind him. 'Remember Deeks, thirteen hundred hours, or Hetty will come for you.'

'Oh, I will remember,' Deeks laughed softly.

Callen patted the younger man on the shoulder. 'Hey, it'll be fun. It may not be what you were hoping for a few months ago, but it'll be fun.'

'Yeah,' Deeks agreed. 'See you tomorrow, Callen.'

'See you, Deeks.'

_**Every holiday, oh, you feel the same**_

Kensi woke with a start. 'What-?'

'A little bit of turbulence,' said Granger, who looked as if he'd been awake for hours. Sunlight filtered through clouds – morning. Kensi had slept almost the entire night.

'Oh.' Kensi relaxed. 'How much longer?'

'Not long,' Granger said. 'It'll be about midday when we land Stateside.'

'Okay,' she replied, relaxing in her seat before pausing and checking her phone, which managed to show her the time before completely running out of battery power. 'Hey, Granger?'

'Yes, Kensi?' he asked, looking up at her from the book that he was reading.

She gave him a small smile. 'Merry Christmas.'

He smiled back. 'Merry Christmas.'

_**Except for the ones when I'm with you**_

Deeks woke up suddenly, looking around his empty bedroom in panic before realising that he was completely alone save for the snoring dog lying at the bottom of his bed.

He glanced over at the alarm clock and shook his head. 6:02 A.M. on Christmas morning. He hadn't been awake this early for Christmas in years. He yawned and stretched. He'd managed four solid hours in one hit, plus another two from earlier in the night. It wasn't the sort of comforting, proper sleep that he got when Kensi was there, but it was sleep of a sort.

Deeks remembered why he'd woken. He thought he'd heard _bells_.

Sleepily, he rolled out of bed and padded barefoot into the living room where his Christmas tree sat, lights blinking merrily at him… hadn't he turned off the lights when he went to bed? And weren't there less presents under the tree last time he checked?

He sank down into a seated position beside the tree and cautiously picked up the nearest box. It simply had "Merry Christmas Marty, From Santa" written on the label.

Deeks couldn't help but laugh.

'Thanks, Hetty,' he said dryly. It couldn't be anyone else. And she'd snuck into his house at six in the morning to leave the presents, too. There were other boxes, not just his, one for Monty and one for Kensi.

He unwrapped his box and gaped at the contents before letting out a soft, choked laugh. 'That woman,' he said, shaking his head and blinking back tears. He reached in and took out the car resting on top of the present.

'Marty,' it had written in it. 'I really am sorry, and I'm sure the next year will be so much better for you than this one ever was.'

Deeks sighed, shook his head, and smiled ruefully. 'I think it will.'

_**I missed Thanksgiving, missed a birthday or two,**_

Kensi stepped out of the plane onto the solid tarmac and breathed in the crisp ocean-scented air of Los Angeles, California, United States of America.

'Smell that ocean air, yeah?' one of the men sitting next to Granger said to her, breathing deeply. 'God, I love LA.'

'Henry?!' a figure in the distance called.

Henry, the man speaking to her, gaped for a moment in surprise before dropping his duffel bag and running for the figure, a woman, who in turn ran for him. They met in the middle and hugged fiercely, something that tugged at Kensi's heartstrings. She kind of wished she'd taken the time to call Deeks, let him know that she was on her way. It would have been nice to have that sort of reunion with him, even if Hetty and Granger were present.

Kensi smiled at the sight of the heartfelt reunion and picked up Henry's duffel bag for him, walking over to the reunited couple.

'Here,' she said with a small smile.

'Thank you, ma'am,' he said sincerely.

'Merry Christmas,' Kensi said to them.

'Merry Christmas,' his partner replied, and the joyous pair wandered off to the exit gate.

A voice behind Kensi startled her. 'Kensi?'

Kensi whirled to see Hetty standing behind her in a neat, pea green suit with a bright, cherry red scarf knotted around her throat.

'Hetty.' Kensi dropped her own bag and took the few paces required before hugging the woman who was like a mother to so many.

'I'm so glad you're here and unharmed,' Hetty said kindly.

'Henrietta,' Granger said, pausing next to the two women.

'Owen,' Hetty said. Both looked at each other with straight faces, and Kensi started to wonder who would crack first.

They seemed to "crack", so to speak, simultaneously, both breaking into smiles.

'Merry Christmas, Owen,' Hetty said warmly, shaking the man's hand.

'Merry Christmas, Hetty,' he replied just as warmly.

'Shall we?' Hetty asked, motioning to the company car sitting in the parking lot.

'Hetty, have you told Deeks that I'm here?' Kensi asked.

'No, dear. I thought it would make an excellent surprise,' Hetty said with a mischievous smile.

Kensi grinned back, and climbed into the back seat of the car.

_**Didn't make St. Valentines, but I was thinking of you**_

Sam opened his front door at exactly 12:58 p.m., to the sight of a smiling Deeks in a fluffy Santa hat, and a Monty in a pair of reindeer antlers.

'Deeks,' Sam said warmly, stepping out to hug the younger man. 'I'm so glad you came.'

'I thought I didn't have a choice in the matter,' Deeks said dryly.

'Well, you didn't, but I'm glad you came of your own volition. My search party wouldn't have been all that impressive anyway, because Hetty isn't here yet,' Sam said, motioning for Deeks and Monty to enter.

'Marty!' Michelle greeted him the moment he stepped through the door, hugging him and planting a kiss on his cheek.

'Merry Christmas, Michelle,' Deeks said warmly, presenting her with a bottle of wine.

'Thank you, Marty, you shouldn't have,' Michelle said, shaking her head.

'Marty!' Sam's son and daughter barrelled out of the living area and attached themselves to the blonde detective with impressive speed.

'Hey, guys,' Deeks said, laughing. 'This is Monty, and he's an ex-police dog.'

'Cool,' the boy cooed. 'A _police_ dog?'

'Yeah. And you know what Monty really likes doing?' Deeks asked, bending down and whispering conspiratorially. 'Playing fetch.'

The two children were on their mother before Deeks would blink.

'Can we, Mom?' the girl asked.

Michelle checked her watch. 'Alright, half an hour, okay? And then lunch will be ready.'

The two children and Monty disappeared into the back garden.

'Is he really a former police dog, Marty?' Michelle asked.

'Sam?' Deeks asked the taller man with a smirk.

Sam heaved a martyred sigh. 'That dog once saved my life,' he recited.

Callen appeared in the doorway, laughing. 'He's never gonna get over that, you realise, Sam? That he was right? Merry Christmas, Deeks.'

'Merry Christmas, Callen,' Deeks replied, "bro-hugging" the other man. He similarly greeted Eric, wearing elf ears and an elf hat, and Nell, giving Nell a friendly kiss on the cheek.

'So we're waiting on Hetty?' Callen asked.

'Hetty and her friend,' Michelle said. 'Someone from your team, apparently.'

'My bet's on Nate,' Nell said. 'He never does get or give warning about when he's going to be in town.'

'Sam, honey, could you get the glasses from the top cupboard?' Michelle asked, retreating into the kitchen. 'And Nell, if you could make some of that salad dressing, you know, the one from Thanksgiving?'

'Sure,' Nell agreed, and Eric also disappeared into the kitchen behind them.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

'I'm closest, I'll get it,' Deeks volunteered, seeing as how everybody but himself and Callen were busy. 'It's probably Hetty.'

'And only a couple of minutes late,' Callen noted.

Deeks laughed and swung open the door.

And gaped in surprise.

_**There's only one thing in the world that I couldn't do**_

Kensi gave Deeks a weak grin. 'Merry Christmas?' she asked lamely.

'Kensi,' was all Deeks managed to say before wrapping his partner up in a tight hug.

'Kensi?' Callen asked from the hallway, sure he'd misheard.

'Kensi?' Sam asked, followed by the sound of shattering glass.

'Kensi?' Nell asked, setting down the salad dressing with a thud.

'Kensi?' Eric asked, not entirely sure he believed his ears. His elf ears.

'Kensi?' Michelle asked, following as almost the entire household emptied into the front yard to confirm with their own eyes.

What they found was Kensi and Deeks hugging extremely tightly on Sam's lush front lawn, with a pleased Hetty watching on.

'I missed you,' Kensi mumbled into Deeks' neck.

'I missed you too,' Deeks whispered into her hair.

Kensi finally pulled away once she realised that the rest of the team was standing there, staring at her.

'We finished the mission,' she offered lamely.

'Kensi!' Nell hugged her friend fiercely, and was followed by Callen, Sam, Eric and Michelle.

'I can't believe it,' Deeks said, taking one of her hands.

'We finished the mission a couple of days ago, and Granger pulled a few strings, and here I am,' Kensi said, waving at herself.

'You couldn't have called?' Callen asked.

Kensi held up her phone. 'It ran out of batteries. My mom doesn't even know I'm Stateside.'

'Well come inside and call her,' Michelle said, motioning for her to go inside.

'One thing,' Callen said, holding his hand up to halt them. 'Deeks…'

'Yeah?' Deeks asked nervously.

'Kiss the girl already. This is already turning into a soppy Christmas movie.'

Deeks looked around. 'I don't know, I'm not a huge fan of PDAs, and you're all watching…'

'Ah, looks like there'll be no show tonight,' Sam said dryly. 'Come on, everyone, lunch is almost ready.'

Hetty led the way back into the house with its warm smells of Christmas goodness, but Deeks caught Kensi by the hand, and held her back.

'So now that they're gone,' he started.

'Oh, shut up and kiss me, Deeks.'

Deeks blinked. 'As you wish.'

'It's been a long thirty-one days,' Kensi told him.

'You've been counting?' Deeks asked.

'Of course I have,' Kensi replied. 'You haven't?'

'Of course I have!' Deeks exclaimed. 'I missed you like crazy!'

'I missed you more,' Kensi said.

'I didn't even get to say goodbye,' Deeks replied, pouting.

'Neither did I,' she said.

'Just kiss her already!' the general chorus said from the house, where they were definitely _not_ watching from the windows.

Deeks laughed, and wrapped his arms around her waist. She looped her arms around his neck and pressed her forehead against his.

'Merry Christmas, Kensi,' he whispered.

'Merry Christmas, Deeks.'

And their lips finally met.

_**Only one thing that kills me, Christmas without you**_

_Fin._

**Woo! Another year, another Christmas story. I couldn't leave Kensi in another country for Christmas, and I definitely couldn't leave Deeks alone. So it goes without saying that this story is definitely AU.**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it, I enjoyed writing it. The song "Christmas Without You" is by OneRepublic, and is one of my favourite holiday songs. Listen to it, enjoy it. **

**I hope you have, are having or have had a very merry Christmas/holiday season (depending on the time zone that you're in – here in Australia, it's 11:51p.m. on Christmas Eve) and I wish all my readers all the best for the New Year.**

**Also, sorry about any mistakes (again, it's 11:51p.m. on Christmas Eve – I'm excited and a little tired).**

**And if you feel like it, please review. I value all feedback. **

**XD PurpleHipposRock**

*See my story, "The Ruby Rose"


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